Online discussions can be a great way for students to practice organizing and communicating thoughts, exchanging ideas, and interacting with peers as well as others. My sixth grade students partnered with some ninth grade students in a study of Robert Frost's poetry. Communicated below are the goals and findings (with student examles) of my colleague and I.
Goals
Multi-level collaboration and community
Students are thinking and communicating about class topics beyond the school day
Older students have opportunity to practice leadership and demonstrate a deep understanding of concepts by directing conversation, analyzing student responses, and teaching relevant objectives
Younger students have the opportunity to learn from multiple non-teacher resources
100% participation in discussion
All students have opportunities to practice and refine intellectual discussion techniques
As educators, we have the opportunity to look for discussion trends, evidence of engagement, and levels of understanding which we could then use to determine instructional decisions
Findings
More kids are more honest about their true personal feelings about the poem; less of the in-class “telling the teacher what she wants to hear”
Kids talk about how they interpret the poem they read
Ex:
Motivated to reread poem to check on the validity of what each other is saying- authentic learning
Text evidence for both grade levels has been there since the get-go; they know that they have a wider audience
6th graders emulate how 9th graders communicate ideas, writing structure
Ex: 6th grade student's original post, 9th grade student's post, same 6th grade student posts again:
9th graders introduced vocabulary and poetic concepts to 6th graders
Ex:
Many students posted more than was required; students who rarely speak in class were responsible for some of the more profound and lengthy posts
The engagement level reached an all-time high when 9th graders posted their original poetry online for the 6th graders to evaluate and critique because they were publishing to a wider audience than just themselves and their teacher
Forums
Online discussions can be a great way for students to practice organizing and communicating thoughts, exchanging ideas, and interacting with peers as well as others. My sixth grade students partnered with some ninth grade students in a study of Robert Frost's poetry. Communicated below are the goals and findings (with student examles) of my colleague and I.Goals
Findings
- More kids are more honest about their true personal feelings about the poem; less of the in-class “telling the teacher what she wants to hear”
- Kids talk about how they interpret the poem they read
Ex:- Motivated to reread poem to check on the validity of what each other is saying- authentic learning
- Text evidence for both grade levels has been there since the get-go; they know that they have a wider audience
- 6th graders emulate how 9th graders communicate ideas, writing structure
Ex: 6th grade student's original post, 9th grade student's post, same 6th grade student posts again:- 9th graders introduced vocabulary and poetic concepts to 6th graders
Ex: